Hyatt Regency O'Hare
The Hyatt Regency O'Hare (or HRO) is a large conference hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, near Chicago. It is adjacent to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
It has, by far, hosted more national quizbowl championships than any other site, including:
- four NAQT HSNCTs (2009, 2010, 2014, 2015),
- seven MSNCTs (2011–2013, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023),
- twelve ICTs (2010–2014, 2016–2019, 2022-2024),
- six SSNCTs (2016–2019, 2022, 2023),
- four IPNCTs (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023),
- two CCCTs (2018, 2023),
- three PACE NSCs (2016, 2017, 2022),
as well as several other quizbowl and quizbowl-adjacent side events. It has thus been the site of many famous in-game incidents in quizbowl history.
The hotel is also known for being an easy four-star hotel to get for a low price on Priceline during the off-season, and thus a frequent lodging place for visitors to other tournaments in the Chicago area, as well as for hosting a cavalcade of amusing non-quizbowl conferences at the same time as NAQT's championship tournaments, including but not limited to two fetish conventions, an e-cigarette expo, multiple interesting weddings, and many proms (one of which, contemporaneous with the 2017 SSNCT, unexpectedly featured the band The Chainsmokers).
Shuttlegoers should not confuse the HRO (which is in Rosemont) with the "Hyatt Rosemont", a much smaller hotel about a mile away. There is also a third Hyatt property (a Hyatt Place) in Rosemont.
Its architect, John C. Portman Jr., also designed the Atlanta Marriott Marquis and the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, two other frequent hosts of national quizbowl championships [1].